Te Ranga Battlefield Memorial

That a moss-covered concrete block, barely visible in a scrubby paddock beside a busy arterial is the foundation stone of the City of Tauranga is the sad truth. And that is marks the deaths and resting place of over a hundred of Ngai te Rangi and associated warriors is a deeper sadness.

Following the definitive triumph of the tangata whenua (local tribes) on Apil 29 1864, at the Battle of Gate Pa, there was a bloody sequel which took place here, at Te Ranga. A few weeks later, Ngai te Rangi and Ngati Ranginui had begun construction on this stronghold, in combination with supporters who had come from far and wide to support their cause, loosely under the Hahuhau movement. Included were some from Ngati Porou (east coast) and Nga Puhi from the far north.

The new commander of the British forces, a Colonel Greer, planned a raid on June 21st and stormed Te Ranga, with a fervour best described as that of Utu (revenge), sparking one of the fiercest battles in the Ne Zealand Wars.

The inscription on the memorial reads: Here on 21 June 1864 after their heroic stand at Gate Pa in April Maori forces were overcome in the decisive battle of Te Ranga.

While the battle may have been decisive, it was brutal, the British also lost 39 men. It had been a match between over 700 attackers, furious about their defeat at Gate Pa, and 500 defenders who had not finished the fortifications of Te Ranga, and was reported to very quickly reduce to hand to hand combat. The weapons itemised after the battle covered the range of Maori and European weapon including spears, patu, bayonets, tomahawks and rifles. Soldiers from both sides who later died in the Te Papa Mission Hospital are buried in the cemetery there, along with others from Gate Pa.

Another issue that history somewhat blurred, was that this date marked a 'surrender' by Ngai te Rangi and Ngati Ranginui. Actually, they gave up their firearms the following month in a deal for seeds to grow new crops. Either way, combined with Raupatu (confiscation) and bit of stealthy dealing, eventually the sought after '50,000 acres' were secured by Pakeha for the development of Tauranga City. James Cowan gives a full account.

The concrete block memorial itself was only placed in the paddock a century later in 1964, and at the 150th anniversary of the battle, discussion was raised about transferring the monument to a public reserve, like Gate Pa Historic Reserve. However inauspicious this little spot appears, this is where the battle of Te Ranga happened.

Image Credits: Google Maps